Crémant slide 4

Crémant de Loire is made in the Anjou-Saumur and Touraine regions of the Loire Valley. Chenin Blanc is most commonly used creating high quality wines with unique flavours of lemon, quince, pear and honey. Although many of the grapes grown in the Loire are allowed in Crémant de Loire, Sauvignon Blanc is not. Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc are used to create Blanc de Noirs or Rosé sparkling wines.

There is a long history of producing Crémant de Limoux, which is most often made from Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc while Pinot Noir is used for adding texture and fruit. There are also sparkling wines called Blanquette de Limoux which are sometimes made in the Ancestrale Method from the local Mauzac grape. Ancestrale Method is an inexpensive method of producing sparkling wine, and probably the oldest, but can be difficult to produce consistency: Primary fermentation begins in a tank. However, before it has finished the wine is bottled where fermentation continues until the yeast die or all the residual sugar is consumed. There is no dosage, or sugar addition, to kick-start the bottle fermentation, and the wine is not disgorged to remove any sediment or lees remaining afterward, leaving a naturally cloudy lightly sparkling wine. Wines are sometimes transferred to a tank under pressure to be filtered which makes them clear and more palatable to certain consumers.